


How To: Christmas

by EternalRavenDreamer



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: Christmas, F/F, lgbt fruits basket network, mentions of other characters but not enough to tag them - Freeform, secret santa gift exchange fic, tfw you leave a cult and get to experience xmas for the first time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:27:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22079911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalRavenDreamer/pseuds/EternalRavenDreamer
Summary: Akito Sohma has never celebrated Christmas. Tohru Honda loves Christmas. So Tohru decides to give Akito the best first Christmas she possibly can!Done as part of a gift exchange for the LGBT Fruits Basket Network. Consider looking us up on Tumblr!
Relationships: Honda Tohru/Sohma Akito
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22
Collections: Giving and Receiving: A Fruits Basket Exchange





	How To: Christmas

**How To: Christmas**

For supersonicgrandma

LGBT Furuba Net Gift Exchange

> Akito Sohma had no idea what Christmas was.

Okay that’s not entirely true. She (and she was still getting used to calling herself that) was always so distracted by the preparations for the New Year’s Banquet every New Year (especially since the clan had to have a celebration for the calendar new year AND the Chinese New Year) that she had only ever seen Japan’s Christmas celebrations on television or in passing on a drive somewhere within the estate. Even then, some of the Inner family were staunch in not celebrating another religion’s holiday, even if Japan’s version lacked most of the religious context and was largely commercial and for lovers. So as long as she had lived Akito had never once celebrated Christmas.

> Tohru Honda loved Christmas.

Not for religious reasons, just for the nice atmosphere and cute decorations. She loved the brightly lit trees, the pretty wreaths, the angel motifs, the cakes - but it was all a little bittersweet now. A Christmas cake seems so much bigger without her mother to eat it with her. At least she still had her two best friends to celebrate with, and the Sohmas too now! And secretly, there was one Sohma in particular Tohru was hoping to spend the holiday with...after all, Christmas is for lovers.

> “A Christmas present for Akito?” Shigure blinked in confusion while Tohru blushed. When she and Akito had begun dating, it caused quite a stir, and the (now-former) Zodiac members were still warming up to the idea. Still, it was still awkward for Tohru to ask them for dating advice.
> 
> “Yes, well...I know we haven’t been dating very long, but it’s Christmas, so I just thought...maybe it would be nice to knit her a scarf, or cook something for her. And since you and Kureno-san are the ones who know Akito-san best, I figured...” Tohru trailed off. 

Things had been a little tense with Shigure since Tohru and Akito got together - Akito had been hesitant to tell Tohru all the details, but Tohru had learned that they had been...romantically (?) involved in the past. Luckily, Shigure's jealousy tended to manifest in snarkiness and passive-aggressive remarks...which were things Tohru was good at pretending to be oblivious to (and occasionally she really was).

> “Actually, the Sohma family doesn’t usually celebrate Christmas. I don’t think Akito has ever experienced it. She's so busy with preparations for the Banquet, I can't imagine her doing anything Christmas related.” Shigure shrugged, and Tohru looked up in surprise.
> 
> “Really?! If that’s true, then...ah! I know what to do now! Thank you so much, Shigure-san!” Tohru bowed deeply before rushing off to her room to plan. Shigure watched her go off, surprised that she hadn't been discouraged.
> 
> “Ah...damn, I can't bring myself to be mean to her. I'm the one who got her involved in the whole curse business for my own reasons, anyway. And, well…" he sighed, "I have no doubt whatever she plans will make Akito happy".

> “Akito-sama, Tohru Honda has arrived.” Akito looked up from her paperwork at the maid who had entered the room. Tohru stood behind her carrying a small bag, looking excited about something. Akito immediately straightened up and cleared her throat.
> 
> “Thank you. You may go now, Tomoe.” The maid bowed and walked away, but not before Akito noticed her give a sneer in Tohru’s direction. She made a note to have Shigure look into her. Meanwhile, Tohru entered the room, bag in hand.
> 
> “Akito-san! Are you free on the 24th or 25th? Either would be fine.” Akito looked at her girlfriend (!) in confusion, not expecting this.
> 
> “Of this month? For the rest of December I have nothing but preparations for the New Year’s banquet, especially since,” she takes a moment to think out her next few words, “it will be the first one since the curse broke.” 

Tohru’s smile falters, but just for a second, “Ah, well...I was wondering if maybe you would like to spend Christmas together! Shigure-san told me you had never celebrated it before.”

This caught Akito off-guard, “Christmas..?”

> “Yeah! We could go look at the lights and decorations around town, and all the trees! Oh, and eat Christmas cake - either the strawberry decorated ones or a more traditional chocolate yule log! And there’s snow coming, so we could have hot chocolate, and I wanted to show you the Christmas market that the small business district is putting together, to sell homemade gifts!” 

Tohru babbled on with sparkles in her eyes, momentarily getting lost in nostalgia. Meanwhile, Akito felt her cheeks get a little bit warmer.

> Akito Sohma had a secret.

Okay, she had like, 20 secrets, but this was different. She was a sucker for cute and sweet things. Cakes, stuffed animals, lovey-dovey couple things...Mogeta...she could only dream of them in her former life, but now that she could live as herself (whatever that may be, she was still getting used to wearing women’s clothes), the temptation to indulge herself in her guilty pleasures was harder to ignore.

_ ‘Cakes...pretty lights...chocolate...doing couples things with Tohru…’  _ Akito daydreamed for just a few seconds, and yet it was enough to completely vanquish her hesitation.

> “...I can’t promise you all of the 24th, but I will definitely take off the 25th. Besides, Shigure’s been slacking on dealing with those maids.” Tohru gasped and then beamed, taking Akito’s hands in hers out of sheer excitement.
> 
> “Really?! Oh thank you so much Akito-san! Let me know what time to meet up and I’ll get everything ready by then!”
> 
> “C-Calm down, jeez! This is only because I’m curious about what all that stuff you said was!”

Christmas Eve ended up being a little hectic. Akito, determined to keep her promise to Tohru, spent most of the day dividing her tasks to Shigure and the servants (at least, the ones she trusted).

> “For the last time, Shigure, if either of the zodiac for the year-passing dance either cannot or will not attend the Banquet, what do you do?”
> 
> “Bribe them--”
> 
> “No”
> 
> “Have Kyon take their place--”
> 
> “NO”
> 
> “...have Aya disguise himself--”
> 
> “SHIGURE”
> 
> “I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Relaaax, Miss Clan Head, leave it all to your trusty attendant. Besides, shouldn’t you be worrying about wrapping whatever gift you have for Tohru-kun for Christmas? We wouldn't want to be 3 for 3 with bad relationships.” Shigure lightly goaded, but it failed to get him the reaction he wanted, because Akito just blankly stared at him.
> 
> “...what gift?”
> 
> “...Akito you’re supposed to give your lover a present on Christmas. Tohru’s been working on something in her room ever since she got you to agree to spending it together.”

> Akito Sohma had never personally picked out a present for anyone in her entire life. 

Even obligatory gifts to her family were chosen by maids and then presented to her for approval. But this was different...this was for Tohru. Akito  _ had  _ to do this alone. The moment Shigure brought it up, she rushed out and asked her diver to take her to the commercial district of the Sohma compound (after double checking that she had her money with her).

But now came the dilemma of  _ what  _ to get. From the sound of it, Tohru was making something herself, but Akito didn't have a creative bone in her body.

> "Okay...what does Tohru like? Cooking...maybe a cookbook? Argh, but then  _ those three _ would probably get to eat her meals first! What else...something to help her at work? A nice apron or...ugh, no! Momiji is always bothering her at work!" 

Akito griped and mumbled, looking through a little shop in the Sohma estate - according to her driver, this was usually where the maids would buy gifts for Sohma business partners when she ordered it. As she was looking through the scented candles (girls like things that smell good, right?) someone came up beside her and gasped.

> "O-oh my goodness! Um, hello honorable Clan Head, c-can I, uh, h-help you find anything?" Akito looked up at (presumably) the owner of the store, a skittish Sohma she didn’t recognize, with thinning hair and smallish eyes.
> 
> "...I need a present for my--" she hesitated and cleared her throat, "--for an...acquaintance. A young woman, a few years younger than me."

The man seemed to brighten up slightly as he began leading Akito to the counter, "Oh, well, we do have the limited edition Christmas Mogeta stuffed toy pair! They're meant to be purchased together for couples, but you can buy them separate as well. Very popular with children and teen girls!" He pulled up two Mogeta plushies - one with reindeer antlers and a little blue present box, and the other with a Santa hat and a little pink present box. The man explained that the presents were detachable with velcro, so the Mogetas could “exchange” gifts. Akito was in love with them immediately.

> "They're perfect," she cooed at the plushies, dropping her guard and smiling only to see the Sohma staring at her, "A-ah, I mean...I will buy the set, please."

> Meanwhile, Tohru was hard at work, with a checklist of "Essential Christmas Experiences" to make sure Akito got to have.
> 
> "Looking at Christmas lights...that's at night so it'll be last, and we can do it walking back to the Sohma estate. The Christmas market opens at noon, and I saved up a bit of money just in case there's something she likes. Um, what else...ah, playing in the snow would be nice but the weather says otherwise. And of course," she held up a mess of red yarn, "a handmade scarf from a girlfriend!" 

' _ Or at least, an attempt at a scarf… _ ' Tohru took a deep breath, imagining a sweet, fluffy winter wonderland dream as she went back to working on her knit and purl.

> Akito insisted on being the one to pick up Tohru for once, if only so Tohru didn't have to deal with the rush if preparation going on back at the estate. 

She waited at the bottom of the path, at the sidewalk before the entrance to the mountain. They were going to be driven to the main festivities area, but Tohru had asked that they spend most of the day walking. Akito's health was better than it had been, but still not perfect (years of sitting around moping and monologuing in a dark room will do that to you), so they were going to take it slow.

> "Akito-san! Merry Christmas!" 

Akito looked up and saw Tohru coming down the path, wearing a large coat and thermal leggings along with boots and a scarf with fuzzy pom poms on the ends, which bounced as she walked. Akito blushed and turned her eyes down at her feet.

> "M-Merry Christmas," "You, uh. Your scarf. It's nice." Tohru let out a sort of squeak or scwak noise and quickly moved the bag she was holding behind her.
> 
> "Eh?! S-Scarf--oh! Oh, right, my scarf, haha..." Akito raised an eyebrow in confusion. Tohru was no master liar, that was for sure, and this sort of reaction meant she was surely up to something...but whatever it was, it could wait until after their date.

> The moment the two of them stepped out of the car, Akito gasped in awe. The first stop on Tohru's Christmas Extravaganza was something Akito had always wanted to visit - a sweets cafe.
> 
> "Normally, eating a Christmas cake would be saved until night, but if we tried to do this then we'd risk them being sold out. Hope you don't mind."
> 
> "No! No, not at all. There's less people here right now so it's less crowded, too. I've…" Akito paused and blushed a little, then returned full gaze at Tohru, making her heart skip a beat, "I don't get to have Western food often, so...do you have any recommendations? I'm not sure what to order." 

After going over the menu, Tohru ordered a strawberry white mocha latte and Akito ordered a hot chocolate with whipped cream (and was enamored with the mini marshmallows), and the two of them shared half a Yule log cake and half a strawberry Christmas cake, for the best of both traditions. Akito tried to convince Tohru she could have the strawberry decoration and ended up cutting it in half so Tohru would stop insisting. Once they had both finished and were quite satisfied, they set out for the next destination.

> "So what's next, Tohru?" Tohru giggled and pulled Akito by the hand, taking the lead and leaving her beau to look at her as if through shimmery 90s shoujo anime vision.
> 
> "The Christmas market! It was at its busiest yesterday so today it shouldn't be as bad. Oh, but if the crowd gets to be too bad, let me know and we can take a break on one of the benches, I packed a blanket so they won't even be cold!" Akito chuckled as Tohru gestured to her bag for emphasis, revealing a small cotton blanket with a snowflake pattern. Akito couldn’t help but laugh.
> 
> "You really went all-out, huh?"
> 
> "Of course! I want your first time celebrating Christmas a happy memory after all!" They exchanged smiles, and there were words that went unspoken, but not unheard:

_ ‘We both have bitter memories behind us, so now that we’re together, let’s make some happier ones.’ _

The market was bustling, but there was so much to look at that Akito almost didn't notice. There were ornaments made of fine glass, little felt Santa dolls, a Bonsai "Christmas tree" which Akito bought to have as an annual decoration...so many stalls and craftspeople! But one stall made Tohru stop in her tracks.

> "Why'd you stop so suddenly? See something?"
> 
> "Akito-san, look! A photo booth! There's even Santa hats to put on, and a stuffed reindeer…" Akito looked where Tohru was pointing and sure enough, there was a stall with somewhat gaudy signage advertising “XMAS PHOTO BOOTH”, with pictures of people posing happily in Santa hats and elf ears.
> 
> "Photo booth...is it one of the ones where you do it yourself?"
> 
> "Looks like this one is. Do you want to try it? The price is really cheap!."
> 
> "Huh--well, I mean...as long as it’s a do-it-yourself one. I don’t like formal photo sessions.” They approached the stall and watched a group of middle-schoolers scurry out of it, each with a roll of photos in hand and laughing happily.
> 
> “Yep, definitely an automatic one! Haha, they even have little red noses to look like Rudolph.” Tohru laughed at all the seasonal props as she entered the booth, Akito hesitantly following. 

The two of them selected the “couple” option, which revealed a selection of stickers in the shape of hearts and cupids. They started off shyly, with stiff poses (especially since Akito had only been photographed for Sohma clan reasons). But Tohru steeled herself and in an effort to encourage Akito, put on one of the Santa hats and offered another to her girlfriend. 

> “It might be silly, but...we could be silly together?” She smiled, with pink cheeks, and Akito’s heartstrings were less “pulled” and more “absolutely obliterated”. Soon they were taking picture after picture: Santa hats, mini-reindeer, magical girl poses...and for the final snap, Akito pulled Tohru into a hug.

After turning absolutely red from head to toe, the two of them retrieved their photo rolls (Tohru paid, since Akito bought the Christmas bonsai tree for herself earlier) and returned to perusing the market. Eventually, Akito spotted a particularly crowded area.

> “What’s that over there?”
> 
> “Hm? Oh, it’s an ice rink! Do you want to--”
> 
> “Absolutely not,” Tohru balked at Akito’s sudden interjection, and Akito quickly realized her mistake, “Ah--sorry, that...came out too aggressive. I’m not very athletic, I’ve always hated sports. But if you want to go, you can.” Tohru shook her head and hands frantically in response.
> 
> “No, no, I’m actually relieved that you don’t want to! I’m...well, you already know I can be a bit…” she trailed off, making a face and gesturing the action of someone falling over. Akito couldn’t help but smirk a little.
> 
> “Clumsy.”
> 
> “Ahaha, yeah. So I’m not very good at sports either, though I try my best. Ice skating though, that’s beyond me. I can’t even manage to stand on the skates!”
> 
> “Pffft...now I’m imagining you trying to go out on the ice in slippers or something and falling all over the place!” She laughed into her hand and turned away, leaving Tohru to huff and blush indignantly.
> 
> “That’s so mean...even if you are right!” Akito finished chuckling and ruffled Tohru’s hair, watching as she tried to fix it with her static-clung mittens still on.
> 
> “Alright, I’m sorry. Where’s the next stop? It’s almost dark.” Tohru smiled and pointed to the only part of the market they had yet to investigate, which was busier than the rest had been.
> 
> “The last section of the market is all food stalls, so I thought we could have dinner here and then look at the lights on the walk back!”

> Food stalls were too chaotic for Akito to handle, so she waited with the bags while Tohru ordered a variety of street food. While she sat and watched the crowd of couples, families, and friend groups, a sense of yearning overtook her.

‘ _ So this is what I was missing all those years. Not just all the Christmas celebration, but just the act of enjoying time spent with someone else, somewhere else. I wanted this so badly, for so long, and all it took for me to find it was-’ _

> “Akito-san!”, a shout pulled Akito out of her reverie and she looked up to see Tohru returning with several containers of food, “I’ve got some food for us to start with, so try whatever you’re interested in! There’s takoyaki, fried chicken, mochi…oh, and we can get drinks from a vending machine.”

Akito picked up a skewer of vegetables and meat (pork, she guessed) and glanced it over, “Is all street food served on sticks?”

> “A lot of it is, because it’s convenient. Here, try some roasted sweet potato, it’s nice and warm!” Tohru held the sweet potato, still steaming with heat, up in front of Akito’s face. 

She momentarily blushed, but leaned forward to take a bite. Tohru, who had been expecting Akito to take it from her hands, half-squealed with surprise and was soon blushing for, what, the millionth time? How did Akito keep making her heart pound like this?

> “Huh...that really is good!” Akito beamed, and Tohru lit up. They sat together and ate all sorts of street food, Tohru always stopping to explain what something was if Akito had never had it before.

As they were finishing the food and cleaning up, Tohru looked up and gasped, tapping Akito on the shoulder.

> “What, what’s wrong?!”
> 
> “Akito-san, look! They’re turning on the Christmas lights!” Akito quickly turned and looked up, the breath leaving her as she found herself being slowly surrounded by hundreds of shimmering lights. 

One by one, then all at once, the place was illuminated. Some of the display was covered in delicate, soft white lights, while other parts had cheerful multicolored bulbs. Some were plain strands, some were patterns, others were wreaths or statues or words...it was as if she had been transported to another dimension.

> “This...this is amazing, Tohru..!”
> 
> “It really is! It’s like fireflies suspended in the air!” Tohru stood first, taking in the atmosphere before turning back around to Akito, whose world seemed to slow as she watched the lights make Tohru’s hair gleam with reddish streaks and face glow with warmth.
> 
> “Akito-san, can we go to the main Christmas tree before heading back?” The question made Akito gulp and come back to reality. She stood and grabbed her bag, with Tohru’s present inside, then took Tohru’s hand.
> 
> “Y-Yeah, sure. Let’s go.”

> The main Christmas tree of the event space was the largest, and a real genuine pine tree to boot. 

It was all done up with strands of multicolored lights, traditional ornaments from across the world, and a giant golden star at the top. The area around it was packed, mostly with couples, but Akito was determined to give Tohru her gift here - after all, under the tree is where you’re supposed to exchange presents, right? It took some pushing and shoving, and a great deal of Tohru reminding Akito to breathe, but eventually they made it underneath the absolute giant of a tree.

> “Oh wow, it’s so beautiful! Thank you, Akito-san, I hope you’re not pushing yourself right now.” 

Akito shook her head, doing breathing exercises less for the crowd and more for building up her courage, “No, I...I wanted to do this. For my own reasons.” Tohru smiled gently and moved closer to Akito, pulling her own bag in front of her.

> “Well, as long as we’re here...I, um, want you to have this!” she reached into the bag and pulled out a beautiful (if a little too long) bright red scarf, “It’s a scarf I made for you. It might not be very good, but...Merry Christmas, Akito-san. Thank you for spending it with me.” She smiled and carefully wrapped the scarf around Akito’s neck for her, as she looked at it with wide eyes.
> 
> “...thank you. This is...this is perfect, Tohru. I’ll take care of it.” she smiled as she held the end of the scarf in her hands - Tohru had even put pom-poms at the end, just like her own scarf. Just then, Akito had a realization, “Ah! Right, I, um. The whole reason I wanted to make it to the tree was so I could give you this.” she opened her own bag and handed the gift box over awkwardly, “It’s not handmade or anything, but...I hope you like it. Merry Christmas.”

Tohru took the box and gasped after she looked inside, “It’s Mogeta..! No, two Mogetas! They’re adorable! Oh, Akito-san, I love them!” She squealed, hugging the box tightly. Akito’s face burst into a shade of crimson even brighter than her new scarf.

> “L-Love---uh, well, I’m glad you. Like them. Yeah.” she pulled the scarf over her face to hide her intense blush, which made Tohru blush because of how cute it was. Really, together they were kind of an awkward disaster.

> After exchanging gifts, they made the slow walk back to where they would be picked up by Akito’s driver. 

They would have walked the full way back, but it was late and Akito was starting to feel the full exhaustion from the day now that the adrenaline was gone. On the way they enjoyed the lights, talked about anything and nothing (“The scarf is a little big because I liked knitting so much that I ended up spacing out while doing it, haha!” “That’s alright, I forgot that presents were even a thing until Shigure reminded me.”)...and finally, the car arrived - Tohru didn’t feel comfortable in the full-blown Sohma clan limo.

The drive back was mostly silent, but it was a cozy sort of silence. Nothing was said because it didn’t need to be. At one point Tohru nearly fell asleep on Akito’s shoulder, and she would have let her but had insisted that Tohru be dropped off first.

As Tohru got out of the car, she turned back around to Akito.

> “Thank you again so much for spending Christmas with me, Akito-san. I hope I made your first one a good memory.” Akito gave a slightly tired smile in response.
> 
> “No, thank you, Tohru. It was the most fun I’ve had in...maybe my whole life.” she reached her hand out to give Tohru’s own a squeeze before departing for the Sohma compound, “Goodnight.” But when she went to let go, Tohru’s grip held. She was looking down, with a deep red flush over her face.
> 
> “G-Goodnight...um…” she slowly looked up, locking eyes with Akito, “A-Akito..chan.” And before Akito could respond, she let go of her hand and ran up the path, disappearing into the mountain. 

As she was still processing what just happened, the driver laughed under his breath and began the trek back to the estate. Completely dumbfounded, Akito sat in the backseat, covered her mouth with the handmade scarf...and screamed into it like a little girl.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

-EternalRavenDreamer

**Author's Note:**

> Whew, this is my first time publishing a fanfic in what feels like forever! I used to post some really bad quality stuff on DeviantArt when I was in middle school, lol. Hopefully this is an improvement since then!
> 
> If you liked my writing, I'm on tumblr at eternalravendreamer so consider saying hi!


End file.
